TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
Kylee shows off her new bearded dragon, Mango. The tiny reptile has quickly become a special companion.
Kylee with Kacey Jenkins, Texarkana ISD’s Coordinator for Special Education, who has taught and supported her throughout her school journey.
Each year, the Wilson family designs and sells autism awareness T-shirts, with proceeds supporting special education classrooms.
“She didn’t dismiss our concerns,” Jasmine says. “Instead, she asked thoughtful questions and provided detailed questionnaires.” Most children do not receive an autism diagnosis until around age three. Although Kylee was still too young for a formal diagnosis, the pediatrician recognized clear developmental delays and immediately recommended early intervention services. Soon, referrals were made for speech, occupational, and physical therapy. That moment marked the true beginning of the Wilson family’s journey through the world of autism support and therapy. “The journey has been hard, long, emotional, educational, exhausting, and incredibly rewarding,” Jasmine shares. Being on the autism spectrum presents differently in every child, but early indicators can often appear during infancy or toddlerhood. Some children may struggle with communication, eye contact, or social interaction. Others experience sensory sensitivities to sound, touch, textures, or light. Developmental delays in speech, motor skills, and coordination can also show up. “Looking back, the clues were there,” Jasmine says. “They just don’t look the same for every child.” For the Wilsons, those early therapies began when Kylee was barely a year old. Speech therapy and occupational therapy became part of daily life, helping her improve communication, coordination, and sensory regulation skills. Physical therapy was evaluated, but ultimately it was determined to be unnecessary at that time. Still, the questions remained. When Kylee turned two, the family traveled to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas to meet with a neurologist for further evaluation. After months of uncertainty, Jasmine and Lee found themselves in an unexpected place emotionally. “We didn’t fear a diagnosis anymore,” Jasmine recalls. “We just wanted clarity. We
wanted to understand how to help her live the fullest and best quality of life possible.” That clarity came shortly after Kylee’s third birthday when she underwent a full individual evaluation through Texarkana Independent School District (TISD). Kylee was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder along with mixed receptive and expressive language disorder, global developmental delay, speech impairment, fine motor impairment, and sensory integration dysfunction. She was also considered a high risk for elopement, meaning a tendency to wander away from safe environments. She later also received a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder. While the list of diagnoses might seem overwhelming, Jasmine remembers feeling something surprising at that moment. “Receiving Kylee’s diagnosis brought an unexpected sense of relief,” she says. “Now we knew what we were facing, and we could focus on helping her.” When Kylee turned three, she began attending the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) through TISD. Early intervention programs like PPCD provide specialized instruction and therapies for young children with developmental delays. It was a great place for Kylee to get her start. Kylee spent most of her elementary years at Pleasant Grove ISD before returning to Texarkana ISD in fourth grade. Additionally, she attended speech and occupational therapy sessions twice a week outside of school. Those therapists and teachers became lifelines. “We would not have survived this journey without the incredible professionals who guided us, cried with us, struggled alongside us and prayed with us,” Jasmine says. One of those educators was Kacey Jenkins, M.S., M.Ed., BCBA, LBA-TX, Coordinator for Special Education for TISD, who taught Kylee during her early school years. “I’m always honored to say I was
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LIFE & STYLE
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